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Student Drowned After 20 Mins of Calls for Help
22 Jul
Summary
- Student Evan d'Andilly drowned after entering the River Ouse.
- He called for help 17 times over 20 minutes before disappearing.
- Family questions emergency response protocols and timelines.
A coroner has concluded that a 19-year-old student, Evan d'Andilly, could not be saved after he drowned in York's River Ouse in March 2025. Evan entered the water from a bridge after a night out with friends. During the 20 minutes he struggled to stay afloat, he was heard calling for help at least 17 times.
An inquest at North Yorkshire Coroner's Court revealed that police officers on the riverbank were unable to reach Evan. The first responders were volunteers from the York Rescue Boat, who were alerted between 03:08 and 03:11. A fire service rescue vessel, dispatched from Selby, was notified at 03:07 but did not arrive until 03:37, after Evan had disappeared from view at 03:23.
Evan's mother, Lorraine d'Andilly, expressed the "excruciating pain" and "devastating impact" of his loss. She criticized the reliance on volunteer services to "fill the gap" in water search and rescue and stated there was "no accountability" for failings. The family, from Scunthorpe, intends to seek a Prevention of Future Deaths report concerning the emergency response procedures for incidents on the River Ouse.
